A School of Architecture graduate design and research studio created a vision, a framework, and a series of projects for the Ray Anderson Memorial Highway, which is a 16-mile segment of I-85 from the Alabama/Georgia border to the interchange with I-185 leading to Columbus. The Memorial Highway was recently designated the "Mission Zero Corridor" by the Georgia State Legislature. This designation is a commemoration of Ray Anderson’s legacy of sustainable industry with Mission Zero for the Interface Corporation.

The studio, in partnership with the Ray Anderson Foundation and the Georgia Conservancy, created the vision of a sustainable highway with implications for global influence in highway design and specific plans and design studies for I-85 and the Mission Zero Highway. The project is led by Richard Dagenhart, interim chair of the School of Architecture, along with a team of urban designers from Perkins+Will in Atlanta (Elizabeth Ward, Cassie Branum, Jeff Williams, Kevin Bacon and Ryan Gravel, all Georgia Tech alums who hold dual Master of Architecture and Master of City and Regional Planning degrees).

The project is intended to be a 10-year effort involving the College of Archtitecture and faculty and students from across Georgia Tech. For more information on the Mission Zero corridor project, visit http://www.coa.gatech.edu/sites/coa.gatech.edu/files/images/mzc.pd (33MB pdf). Additional information on the studio and the project can be found on the Georgia Conservancy’s website at http://www.georgiaconservancy.org/blueprints/missionzero.html.